I'm starting to look into doing some odds and ends freelance work, and I'm wondering a few things.

How are contracts dealt with? Is there someplace to find a decent stock art contract, or do I need to use a lawyer?

How is payment usually handled? I don't have a company name or anything, and I'm guessing in some cases my clients may not have a company name either. Suggestions?

Should I take jobs where it's clear that the client is very ignorant of what they're asking? I plan to lay out a specific pipeline for dealing with people, but in the case of someone who really isn't sure what they want, will it even be worth the trouble to coach them?

Any input would be helpful. Thanks.
Chris

Originally Posted by The Devo

will it even be worth the trouble to coach them?

Many people have a "the customer is king/right" attitude. Forget about those guys. It's often not worth it. Especially if things turn out more difficult for you (because they want lots of changed) they will just feel reinforced in their thinking that listening to you was a bad idea.

Sometimes you find clients who really appreciate your input and with whom you can actually work TOGETHER! Keep those, drop the rest, unless they know what they want and can describe it in reasonable terms. Build yourself a client base with people you're comfortable to work for and stick to those whenever possible.

Having good people skills, lots of patience and the ability to explain and break down artistic/technical issue in plain English helps.

And do EVERYTHING in writing. Verbal "handshake" deals can become your worst enemy. Archive all correspondence. I used to encounter some bad apples when I did freelance who'd drag out payment forever. Good I had all correspondence archived. Got my money in the end.

Have some terms of service set up and put on the contract - e.g. when payment is due (usually within 30 days - reliable clients can get up to 60). Agree how and when the money should be received.

1. if you're doing work for a company they will usually provide you with a contract. just have a read over it to make sure it looks right. i've freelanced fulltime for two years now and the client has supplied one every time.

2. once the work is done, ask what method they use to pay and invoice them.

3. in my opinion, if they're not 100% sure what they want right off the bat, don't be afraid to ask a lot of questions to find out EXACTLY what they need before you sign anything. generally a client should give you a concept and some rough specs before you agree to work with them. if they're clearly idiots before you accept the work just turn em away.

What racer and Kwramm say are 100% right.

Also having done alot of freelance (not game related but graphic design related, still creative field and design) I can say the following.

If you're required to write up a contract, my contract and quote are one and the same, so it works like this:

Client approaches me to do work. I then ask all the required questions, what is the job, what are the technical requirements, by when, ask as many questions as possible. Get all of the details, if you're not sure of something, ask. Clarity is always a good thing.

I then draw up a quote, this contains a break down of how my time is spent, what the various elements that are costed for etc.

It has a total, and the quote requests 40% down payment before you start working. In the quote are my T&C's. So it state's upon recieval of the down payment, the client has agreed to the quote, and all of the T&C's. Some of the T&C's:

1. A 40% deposit is required on acceptance of the quote. The deposit also indicates client-agreement with the terms and conditions specified here.
2. The job will only be commence once the deposit has been paid
3. The final invoice must be paid within 14 days after job completion. (You could also state upon settlement of outstanding amount final files will be delivered)
4. Quote includes 2 rounds of changes per listed item. Thereafter a charge of R350/h is made applicable.
5. YOUR NAME will not take responsibility for any errors observed in the design/illustration or printing thereof after the final design or illustration has been approved by the client. (meaning, once it's approved, it's approved)
6. All work is non-refundable. Should the client wish to cancel a project, the work done to date of termination will be invoiced.
7. All amounts are in South African Rands.

^ these are the T&C's that i use, and you'd have to tweak them to your needs and region. But you get the jist. A contract should protect both you, and your client.

Do you guys work often enough to make a consistent income? Im considering Freelance myself and ive been wondering how much time are you actually working?

Some gigs may give nice consistent income ,like i worked several months for a Tampere University of Technology.
And some works give enough money so you can have some time to find new ones.. It always varies a lot.

If you work for something like Liquid you could make a living off of that I think. Just because they're consistent with offering you stuff.

Originally Posted by JO420

Do you guys work often enough to make a consistent income? Im considering Freelance myself and ive been wondering how much time are you actually working?

Depends on number of clients you have. The volume of work they give you and how much time and energy you actually have to carry out the work cuz there would be days where work overlaps...then you're screwed

Meaning, you either fight sleep or sacrfice block of hours for one job so you can finish another. Why you may want multiple clients? Cuz there'd also be days or weeks where one has no job for you (if you have a regular client, for example).

But starting out, I recommend getting one client/project at a time. Or combining it with a regular part-time job. Maybe shift-work so you can allocate a block of your day to your freelance but have the comfort of knowing you'll be able to pay rent if there's not enough work.

Currently juggling 3 gigs with different project durations and end dates. It's NOT easy.

Great info guys! Thank you for taking the time. I'm trying to educate myself as much as possible so I don't get into trouble, upset clients, overwork and underpay myself, or get financially screwed. You've been extremely helpful.

Chris

Remote contracts is always a concerned problem for many free-lancers,I think you can contact them through fax.A lawyer is not necessary，but you can still have one.
Payments should be easy handled,just remit into your personal account.

youre welcome botsy ^^

Originally Posted by MagicSugar

Depends on number of clients you have. The volume of work they give you and how much time and energy you actually have to carry out the work cuz there would be days where work overlaps...then you're screwed

Meaning, you either fight sleep or sacrfice block of hours for one job so you can finish another. Why you may want multiple clients? Cuz there'd also be days or weeks where one has no job for you (if you have a regular client, for example).

But starting out, I recommend getting one client/project at a time. Or combining it with a regular part-time job. Maybe shift-work so you can allocate a block of your day to your freelance but have the comfort of knowing you'll be able to pay rent if there's not enough work.

Currently juggling 3 gigs with different project durations and end dates. It's NOT easy.

I'm currently doing 2 freelance projects plus a fulltime studio job. The studio guys are cool and let me use lunch time for doing my freelance. One of the projects has more loose deadlines and the other one is more strict, so I work around that, sometimes sacrificing social/sleep time, but not that often. Working on multiple projects with tight schedules might be hard!

its possible to make a good living as a freelancer, Out of my 12 year in the industry, i have spent the last 8 as a full time freelancer, not from working with outsourcing company ( except to help out friends ) but as a Solo Freeancer ( well i do hire other people often tho).

Its possible if you are dedicated. Anyway I dont want to spoil my article already, so just read Ryan Book, not that u guys would miss it anyway ^^

Awesome tips people! Added a new wiki section for this.
http://wiki.polycount.com/CategoryGa...ry#Freelancing

I can't recommend this book enough.
Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines

Just a little tid bit that is actually incredibly useful when im doing freelance stuff. If making logos or tons of assets or concepts, never present it to the client all crammed to gether on a single page it makes it seem like a fraction of the work that you actually did.

Split them out into seperate images.

Another question!

I've done plenty of research on what to charge, but how do you guys handle the actual payments? PayPal? Check? Other?

This really has been a huge help. Thank you again.
Chris

I've always used Paypal, but that's because I live halfway across the world and wire transfer through banks become such a hassle

Paypal for me too. One client is direct deposit.

Thing with paypal to keep in mind when you use it and when you set your fees is their service charge. Both incoming and outgoing (if you decide to do a bank transfer) you'll lose money.

It's not too bad if you get paid couple a hundred but if it's like in the 5K range and up and you're all happy with your score until you look at the details...then you go "what the f*** just happened???"

very informative thread guys, thanks!

Paypal is shit. They charge way too much. I always get my money wired.

How freelancing works for me: I have a small buisness registered in my home town through which is my tax dealt with and makes my work legit (might not be necessary for you. i live in Germany). My contracts so far always have been Independent Contractor Agreements. I get paid a fixed rate each month (only worked for two comapanies so far, each for over a year). I'm not charging for single assets instead i just do my regular work hours like an employee would do. I write an invoice each month and that's it.

You don't get employee benefits as a freelancer so take care that you are properly insuranced! (health, invalidity, unemployment). Know how to deal with this in your specific country.

Not sure i would want to do freelance in the sense of doing a little here for company A then a little there for company B. I like having steady income and some job security. Of course this only works when you know the right people to work for and there is mutual trust over work and payment.

And make sure you save some money for the case that you are suddenly without work! There is no 3 month notice or stuff like that. As a freelancer you always have to be prepared to be without income from one moment to the next.

What about looking for clients,do you guys just write to various companies and wait for a bite or....?

I got all my jobs through social networking (LinkedIn, forums, staying in contact with ex-coworkers and possible future clients etc.)

Originally Posted by JO420

What about looking for clients,do you guys just write to various companies and wait for a bite or....?

Google hustle. I do a search every 5-10 minutes I'm not working or playing. Applying lots and not waiting for replies before further searching.

I don't/won't do the freelance sites cuz I'll never win in that game. As an exclusively remote artist I'd rather pick and choose who to work for and what type of a gig: model with provided refs = yes; animation = no - cuz from my studio experience it's high-maintenance art directionwise involving possibly lots of fixes (to the point you don't have time for other work) or you'll have to really charge high.

Good luck!

My client is being a huge bitch. He approved my works earlier and now he want's changes.
Can i just say im not going to change them because they were already approved?

Did you have it in writing first?

How major are the changes?